Disclaimer: Ideas are fictional; not making any money on this. Hawaii 5-0 belongs to CBS. That's okay because none of this would work on TV.
Family Life, Chapter 2
Fall, 2021
Catherine watched as Danny walked back to the SUV to help Steve unload. The boys had carried their smaller bags into the house, leaving their dads to carry in the heavy items. Steve hip-bumped Danny as he pulled out a cooler. Danny retaliated with an elbow to the ribs. Steve escalated the action by pulling Danny close for a scorching kiss. Then he whispered something dirty into Danny's ear judging from the quick grin on Danny's face.
Catherine realized that she had to rework her plan. Steve and Danny were obviously still going strong. That was okay; she wasn't afraid to work hard to get something she really wanted. And Catherine really wanted Steve McGarrett.
It's said that for every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction. It may not always be true, but with the case of Catherine Rollins' scheming, it was. As the professional lives of Steve McGarrett and Catherine Rollins intersected, so did the lives of other colleagues.
Admiral David Thomas Halloran was doing a stint as instructor at the Naval Academy when Steve McGarrett was only a cadet. He was also assigned to Coronado a few years later when Steve did his BUDS training. He was often on the periphery when Steve (and Catherine) worked in Naval Intelligence, so he had some background on both naval officers professionally and personally.
So he wasn't all that surprised when Commander Rollins came to him a couple of weeks ago with a request to reactive Steve's commission and have him assigned to her task force. The admiral was a big fan of Steve McGarrett, not only because of his impeccable service to the Navy but also because of his outstanding performance as the head of 5-0.
Admiral Halloran was disappointed when Steve left the Navy, but he was also pleased that the closed-off man he knew from his earlier days had grown to be a man secure enough to pursue a relationship with his 5-0 partner. Halloran occasionally saw Steve and Danny out with their sons and was gratified to see a happy family. He also knew that Catherine and Steve had a thing going for several years before Steve and Danny became a couple.
As much as Halloran liked McGarrett, he was not so sure about Commander Rollins. Her performance on the job was notable, but Catherine had developed personal issues since Steve left the Navy. At first, those issues hadn't affected her job performance. In the last year, the admiral noticed cracks in Rollins' professional behavior.
At first, it was just little things that were hard to quantify concerning her behavior with male colleagues. She was not very helpful when they requested her assistance especially if the man was attractive. Then her behavior bordered on passive-aggressive to the men. Her previous C.O. thought the sun rose and set in Catherine Rollins, but Dave Halloran had his own opinion.
Halloran strongly suspected that Commander Rollins was up to no good when her reactivation request came across his desk. Once McGarrett was reactivated, he would be at Rollins' beck and call since he would be reporting to her. Rollins' had cashed in a lot of favors to get Steve back in the Navy, so Halloran decided that he would even the odds.
His first move was to get McGarrett promoted to full commander. Then McGarrett would be Rollins' equal in rank. The admiral also arranged to have McGarrett report directly to him instead of Rollins. He fully expected Rollins had ulterior motives and he intended to discover what they were.
So on Tuesday morning, Lt. Commander waited to see Admiral Halloran. It had been a hectic morning so far. Steve and Danny decided not to tell the boys that Steve was back in the Navy again until the last minute. Jack tended to worry about changes to his routine, and his anxiety caused his ADHD to act up.
Danny was just setting four steaming bowls of oatmeal on the table when Steve came down in his khakis. Jack and Jesse were discussing a science project they had due at the end of the week when Steve strolled into the kitchen and poured coffee for Danny and himself. Although Steve left the Navy before Jack was born, Jack and Jesse were both quite aware that the sailors they saw on the island were routinely deployed overseas. Neither were pleased to Steve see in uniform.
"Dad, what's up? Why are you wearing a uniform? You're not going away, are you?" Jack's voice grew more high-pitched with every question.
Steve took a sip of his coffee and waited for Danny to join them at the table. He took Danny's hand and offered a silent prayer that he would find the right words to put the boys at ease without giving any false hope.
"Boys, I received orders late Friday to report to the base at Pearl Harbor today for a special assignment. I don't know the details of my assignment, but the fact that I'm wearing my khaki uniform instead of camos makes me think that the Navy wants to pick my brain about something, not get me shot at. I wasn't told to bring my gear, so I should make it home tonight. Until then, it's business as usual for us. You boys will go to school and Danno and I will go to work, just not at the same place."
It took Steve and Danny most of breakfast to calm the boys down. Then Steve dropped the boys at school while Danny headed to the Palace. Just as Danny pulled into the parking lot at the Palace, Danny's cell phone went off. One glance told Danny that it was the governor calling. "Well, that just makes the day perfect!" Danny muttered to himself.
"Detective Williams, this is Governor Caldwell. I know that you're one man down with the Commander back on duty. I just received a call from the base at Pearl Harbor. Admiral Halloran has requested your presence at his office. You are to report to the main gate and you'll receive instructions there."
Now Danny was alarmed. It wasn't the first time that 5-0 visited one of the naval bases, but usually Steve took point on those meetings. "Sir, do you have any idea what this is all about? First Steve gets last-minute orders. Now they want me to report also?"
"Danny, I'm as much in the dark as you are. I've been assured that your business there will not take long. Please report back to me when you return to HQ. I'd like to at least pretend that I know what is happening on my island."
"Yes sir. I'll get back to you as soon I know what is going on." Danny ended the call and ran his fingers through his hair. It was going to be a very long day.
So you can imagine Steve's surprise when Danny was ushered into the same waiting room where he sat waiting to see the Admiral. "Danno, what are you doing here? Did you miss me already? You know you can't just drop in on me when I'm working on the base, right?"
Danny didn't know whether to be more worried or relieved to see Steve so soon. He sat next to his husband and held his head in his hands. "I have no idea why I'm here. I get a call from the governor telling me that Admiral Halloran requested my presence."
Before Steve could ask any more questions, the door to the Admiral's office opened and an aide motioned for the men to enter.
Steve stood at attention in front of the Admiral's desk and saluted. "Lt. Commander Steven McGarrett reporting for duty, sir."
Danny wasn't sure of the protocol but he didn't want to embarrass Steve. He stood at what passed for attention. "Detective Daniel Williams, 5-0, reporting as requested."
Admiral Halloran returned Steve's salute and shook hands with Danny. "Steve, it's great to see you again. Detective Williams, thank you for coming. I know you both are wondering what this is all about. I'll brief you on your assignment here in a bit, Steve. For now, I have some good news. Steve, you were a Lt. Commander when you left the Navy. You were due for a promotion then. Now that you're back on active duty, I want you to have your promotion. Detective Williams, I thought that you might want to pin the Commander's new insignias on his uniform."
A staff photographer slipped into the office as the admiral opened a box to display the insignias for commander. Danny's hands shook as he pried each insignia from the box, removed the lieutenant commander insignias from Steve's collar, and poked the new insignias through the remaining holes. He watched as Steve recited the oath of office with a lump in his throat. One part of him was so proud of his husband; the other part was sick at the thought of Steve back in the Navy and possibly deployed to some hellhole overseas.
The admiral shook hands with Steve in congratulations as the photographer snapped several shots to commemorate the event. Then the three men stood together for a posed shot. Then the admiral excused himself and took the photographer with him to give Steve and Danny a moment of privacy.
Danny took the opportunity to congratulate Steve with a sweet kiss and a hug. "Wow, this is most certainly not what I expected. I'm proud of you babe!"
"Thanks Danno, it's not what I expected either. It means a lot that you're here. It's the first time that I had family present for a promotion. I just wish I knew why I'm here, but I don't have such a bad feeling about it anymore. I've known Admiral Halloran since my time at the Academy."
Before Steve could say more, the Admiral came back into the office carrying a folder. "Danny, it was a pleasure to meet you. I've known Steve for more years than I like to think about. If you'll step back to the waiting area, someone will bring you prints of the photos. I'm sure you'll want to share them with your sons."
"Thank you Admiral. Can I wait until Steve comes home tonight to show them to Jack and Jesse?"
Before Steve could tell Danny it wasn't protocol to pump a C.O. for information, the Admiral laughed and said, "That's a splendid idea. Our newest commander should be home in time for dinner."
Steve was still puzzled by the whole turn of events, but he was pleased to hear that he would be going home today. At the admiral's command, he sat and waited to hear his fate.
"Steve, our intelligence group here has run into a terrorist cell that's remarkably like the one run by the Hesse brothers. You were key to both operations that took down Anton and Hesse. The head of our intel group has requested your reactivation to assist in the current investigation. While you're here, I would also like your evaluation of the personnel you'll be working with. Your 5-0 team is first rate, and we need the same kind of people working on our side. You're reporting to me while you're here; I want to make that point clear."
Before Steve could respond, there was a knock at the door. When the admiral barked "Enter", Steve was stunned to see Catherine Rollins walk into the room. His first thought was that she looked good. Her figure was still slender and her hair was neatly pinned back. Then he could see the lines around her eyes and mouth and worry lines in her forehead. He also saw that she had been promoted twice since their last meeting and was now a commander. He instinctively knew that somehow her new rank was related to his sudden promotion.
Catherine was surprised to see Steve too, although she knew he would be reporting to base this morning. She knew that he was still achingly handsome from her stalking over the weekend. She was shocked and not happy at all to see Commander's insignias on his collar.
Catherine stood at attention and saluted. "Commander Rollins reporting, sir." At the admiral's direction, she took a seat. This was not going the way she planned. Steve's promotion meant they were on equal footing in terms of rank. It would also make it tricky to have him under her command. She was trying to decide how this would impact her plan when the admiral dropped another bombshell.
"Commander Rollins, Commander McGarrett has been reactivated per your request. He's assigned to my staff and I expect regular reports from him on your status. Since we've yanked him from civilian life so abruptly, I expect that he will keep regular office hours unless an emergency arises. I realize that despite the circumstances, Commander McGarrett will also want to touch base with his 5-0 team although we all know how competently Detective Williams will lead the team in his absence. Do you have any questions?"
Admiral Halloran didn't get to be an admiral by being anyone's fool. He watched various emotions wash over Rollins' face: shock, dismay, and lastly anger. Catherine thought she had carefully her feelings hidden, but the mask had slipped enough to give her away.
Catherine realized that the admiral and Steve were waiting for her to say something. "Uh, no sir. I understand. Is there anything else I need to know?" Like when did Steve become a commander? Like how she was going to make any progress with Steve if he got to go home to his family every night? Like how was she going to face Steve every morning knowing he shared a bed with Danny every night?
"No, you're dismissed. The commander will join your team shortly."
Steve maintained a professional demeanor even though his first inclination was to ask the admiral "What the fuck?" Instead, he waited until he heard the door close before asking "Admiral, am I here because Commander Rollins requested the change in my status?"
Admiral Halloran's respect for Steve went up another notch. "Yes, you are. Sit back Steve and I'll tell you a story."